A 19-year-old Arkansas man has pleaded not guilty in two separate cases in which he has been charged with beating his infant sister and charged with 32 counts related to child pornography.
Turrell Grisham of Fayetteville was first arrested and charged with second-degree domestic battery and first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor after he “repeatedly battered his 20-month-old sister over the course of” Jan. 11, according to documents.
Grisham was supposed to be taking care of his sister, authorities said. He told police that while he was home alone with the baby, he “dropped his sister onto a couch on top of several binders and paperwork,” threw her bottle at her and hit her “with an open hand,” according to a preliminary arrest report.
Grisham pleaded not guilty to the charges Feb. 13, documents show.
Grisham pleaded not guilty May 12 to multiple charges related to child pornography, including three counts of engaging children in sexual explicit conduct and 29 counts of distributing, possessing or viewing of matter depicting sexually explicit conduct involving a child, according to court documents.
Prosecuting Attorney Matthew Durrett wrote in court documents that Grisham “persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced” a 14-year-old child “to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce visual or print media depicting the sexually explicit conduct.”
Durrett also wrote that Grisham had explicit photos of 14- and 15-year-old children on his computer as well as some videos.
Grisham is being held in the Washington County jail in lieu of two $5,000 bonds. His next hearing is set for July 6.
